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GRIP deuterium excess reveals rapid and orbital-scale changes in Greenland moisture origin.

Masson-Delmotte V, Jouzel J, Landais A, Stievenard M, Johnsen SJ, White JW, Werner M, Sveinbjornsdottir A, Fuhrer K

IPSL/Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE), UMR CEA-CNRS, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France. valerie.masson@cea.fr

The Northern Hemisphere hydrological cycle is a key factor coupling ice sheets, ocean circulation, and polar amplification of climate change. Here we present a Northern Hemisphere deuterium excess profile covering one climatic cycle, constructed with the use of delta18O and deltaD Greenland Ice Core Project (GRIP) records. Past changes in Greenland source and site temperatures are quantified with precipitation seasonality taken into account. The imprint of obliquity is evidenced in the site-to-source temperature gradient at orbital scale. At the millennial time scale, GRIP source temperature changes reflect southward shifts of the geographical locations of moisture sources during cold events, and these rapid shifts are associated with large-scale changes in atmospheric circulation.

Published 4 July 2005 in Science, 309(5731): 118-21.
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